Tonight was the first night in a long time that this contest presented hard decisions. As readers of this blog know, I don’t think Melanie Martinez — now out — was a hard decision. Her run on the program exceeded her talent, at least at this stage in her life, and she is young.

But of the remaining five, well they all have talent, and only four made it.

But something fell off with Amanda along the way. A truly great artist sparks that stirring feeling within no matter how many times you’ve heard them. (For me, I count among such masters Carole King, Karen Carpenter, Billy Joel and, yes, CeeLo Green.)

Amanda just didn’t deliver that response over time, over the course of the show. There would be glimpses of greatness, but then gaps.

At this stage, some wasn’t enough.

Here’s the roster, as it stands now.

For those who track the judges’ rank, it’s two in for CeeLo, two for Blake. Adam and Christina are out.

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